


Three’s a Crowd

by sheisamelody



Category: Water Rats
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 04:41:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28557771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sheisamelody/pseuds/sheisamelody
Summary: While investigating a series of robberies on waterfront houses, underlying tension surfaces between Frank, Rachel and Jack…





	Three’s a Crowd

**Author's Note:**

> Set towards the end of season three, probably around the time of the Madigan/Formica storyline on the show.

* * *

" _The latest home invasion was here in Mosman, where yet another waterfront property was set upon by ruthless thieves, disguising themselves as labourers. It's the fourth incident in as many days and residents in the area say they are –"_

Jeff switched the television off with a loud, moody sigh, " _Four_!" he exclaimed, wide-eyed. "There's been four robberies so far this week, all with the same or similar M.O and we haven't yet got a half decent description of the culprits. I have the Police Commissioner on my back every second, wondering what the hell we're actually doing here."

"Then by all means Jeff, tell the Commissioner he's more than welcome to come and give us a hand with the investigation," Frank piped up, almost too sarcastic for Jeff's liking. "We could obviously use all the help we can get, even if it is from someone who just sits around on his arse all day and gets paid triple the amount we do."

"There's no need to be a smartarse about this, Frank," Jeff told him sternly, quickly adding, "Anyway, you'll be pleased to know I gave Jack Christey a call. From tomorrow, he will be the one lending you two a hand during this investigation, _not_ the Police Commissioner."

As soon as Frank heard Jack's name being mentioned he was scoffing softly, glancing meaningfully over at Rachel out of the corner of his eye before focusing back on Jeff. "Pleased? Jack? All he'll do is flirt with Rachel! I'm not sure how that will help us solve the case."

Rachel shot him a split second look of complete disapproval. Jack was a good detective and she knew that Frank was well aware of it too; he just couldn't pass up the opportunity to have sly little digs at him when given the chance.

Jeff wasn't in the mood for Frank's not so subtle dislike of Jack. "Learn to deal with it, Frank," he said in an abrupt manner, before changing the subject, "Now, I want you both out at this latest house in Mosman. Speak to the homeowners and the neighbours. Hopefully _someone_ might have something a bit more useful to say this time."

When Frank and Rachel walked out of Jeff's office and shut the door behind them, Rachel quietly commented, "You really can't help yourself, can you?"

"What?" Frank asked her obliviously.

Rachel couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes, even though Frank wasn't looking at her. "Every opportunity you get, you have a go at Jack. What is with that? Why can't the two of you get along, or at least _pretend_ to?"

Frank shrugged nonchalantly and kept his mouth shut, deciding not to give Rachel any other kind of response as they walked down the stairs and headed outside towards the wharf where the Nemesis was docked. Once they were safely on board the boat, Tommy steered it out into the open water, "Mosman, ladies and gents?" he called out to Rachel and Frank from the top deck, looking over his shoulder as he did so.

"That's the one, Thomas!" Rachel answered, flashing a small smile. She glanced over at Frank, who was being noticeably quiet, continuing to wonder what it was between he and Jack that made them hate each other so much.

—

Frank and Rachel were sitting at their respective desks in silence the following morning when Jeff, who had just arrived at work, poked his head into the office, asking, "How'd you go with the neighbours and the homeowners in the area yesterday afternoon?"

"Well, the homeowners from yesterday's robbery are overseas and we still haven't got a decent description of them, Jeff," Frank informed him glumly. "Apart from the fact they're all caucasian men and their accents make them sound as if they're most likely to be Australian."

"What, are they wearing masks the _entire_ time they rob these places?" Jeff exclaimed, even though the question was somewhat rhetorical. He knew they were smart; so far they'd been disguising themselves as painters, welders…any kind of labourer who would usually wear some kind of facial covering and gloves. "And don't forget that Jack will be here shortly! Fill him in on what's been happening and what you've got so far," Jeff then called out as he headed in the direction of his own office.

"How could we forget that?" Frank then remarked sarcastically, to which he saw Rachel roll her eyes. "Sorry, I'll play nice once he gets here. Honest!"

Rachel took a deep breath in. "Are you going to tell me what is with you and Jack?" she asked, a small frown formed on her face, "Is it just some sort of alpha male thing or…"

"Does it really matter?"

Rachel nodded several times and tried to explain it from her perspective, "Jack's gonna be here for the next… however many days, while we work on this case together. And I don't want to be stuck in the middle of whatever it is that's between you two."

"I think you already are in the middle of it Rachel… albeit unwittingly," Frank somehow said seriously, but with a wink. He could tell something was going on with Rachel and Jack, although he didn't want to ask too many questions because in that moment, he felt it wasn't really any of his business. Frank's eyes then turned towards the door when he saw the man they had been discussing standing in the doorway, looking smart in his neatly ironed suit as usual.

Jack heard the last few moments of their conversation, but pretended he didn't. "Hi guys," he said with the smallest of smiles, "A little bird told me you're having a bit of trouble with this armed robbery case that's been all over the news and could use my help…"

"We can indeed!" Frank exclaimed (too) happily, at the same time Rachel nodded.

Jack pulled up the empty chair closest to Rachel's desk and sat down. "So…" he tried to start the conversation, slapping his hands down onto his knees, "What have you got so far?"

"Not a lot at the moment, Jack," Frank decided to answer, briefly looking across at Rachel and then back over at Jack. "Apart from some half-arsed descriptions of the robbers, as well as their obvious love for multi-million dollar waterfront locations."

"Not to mention their love of pretending to be labourers," Rachel added.

A frown formed on Jack's forehead, "And the people that live in these homes… are they all renovating or something? Perhaps they're hiring people to do various jobs for them, and then the robbers somehow get involved instead of the real labourers."

Frank nodded in agreement, "Seems likely. But the homeowners from yesterday's robbery in Mosman are currently overseas, so I doubt they would be doing much to fix up their house right now."

Jack continued to frown as he spoke, "So these jokers _broke_ into the place yesterday? No one let them in this time?"

"They smashed a window around the side of the house. Crime scene didn't find any fingerprints."

—

Early the next day, Gavin and Tommy were called to yet another robbery, this time in Clontarf. "Still on the north side of the Bridge, hey Sykesy," Tommy observed from onboard the Nemesis, which he was carefully directing towards the wharf, "These guys really do have a thing for the waterfront homes, don't they!"

"It won't make the detectives happy knowing there's been yet another robbery though!" Gavin responded, pointing out Frank, Rachel and Jack as they arrived at the location by car.

"Nor the residents!" Tommy was quick to add, closely watching Gavin secure the Nemesis to one of the pylons of the wharf.

"I'm just saying Jack, if you made your own way here, at least Rachel and I would have been here a lot earlier," Frank was in the middle of talking as he got out of the car and started to head in the direction of the latest home to be robbed. "It could've saved us a bit of time."

Jack rolled his eyes at Frank's back, "Yeah, because Balmain and the Water Police are _so_ far away from each other," he said sarcastically to himself, seeing Rachel shake her head in disapproval. "What?" he asked her, frowning.

"Don't feed the fire, Jack," she cautioned him. "Frank's just being a pain in the arse. He's been this way the whole morning. He knows that it was easy enough for you to come to the Water Police first because it is on the way."

"Frank's only being a pain in the arse because I'm here, and we all know it," Jack remarked. He and Rachel then quietly walked side by side to the front door of the property, where they found Frank already inside, having been let in by a resident.

"Detectives Rachel Goldstein and Jack Christey, this is Kylie Lang, she lives here with her husband Gary," Frank introduced them. "Mrs Lang says she's only noticed jewellery missing so far."

"That's right. Rings, watches and necklaces mostly," Kylie told them, still in an obvious amount of distress, "But I haven't checked the whole house yet."

"Where was the missing jewellery kept, Mrs Lang?" Jack asked her as they all wandered towards the kitchen. "Do you have a safe?"

"It was all in the main bedroom. The safe is in there as well, but they didn't get into that. I've looked."

Jack nodded, "Anything else missing from the bedroom?" he watched as Kylie shook her head, "Okay, well, we're going to take a look around if you don't mind. We'll get a statement from you a bit later."

While Jack stayed on the ground floor of the house, Rachel and Frank went upstairs in search of any clues the robbers may have left behind. "Would you listen to him," Frank muttered to Rachel, "Taking control of the investigation like we're not even here. What an arsehole."

"Frank, can you please just stop?" Rachel exclaimed. She was getting annoyed by Frank and Jack's verbal stoushes and it showed. "Jack's not _taking control_ of the investigation. You or I could have said the same thing he did to Mrs Lang, it makes no difference."

—

Jack walked out onto the balcony of the Water Police station later on in the afternoon, hoping that the cool winter breeze would manage to blow away his annoyance of Frank. The two men had clashed a number of times before in the past, however this was a whole different kettle of fish. Usually the reason for their clashes was because of work and their differing opinions or methods, but Jack had a feeling that this time it was about one thing and one thing only: Rachel.

"Try not to let Frank bother you. You know him, he's just being… well… Frank," came Rachel's voice, as she walked towards Jack. Stopping once she was standing fairly close to him, she raised her eyebrows, wordlessly questioning his reasons for not being able to get along with Frank.

"That's easier said than done, Rachel," Jack answered, not giving too much away at first.

"What is with you two?" she said her thoughts out loud, in hope that Jack would actually be able to answer the question, instead of skirting around the issue like Frank had done every time she asked him. Jack looked over at her blankly, and Rachel's hope diminished. "You're not pretending you don't know what I'm talking about, are you?"

"No, not at all. Frank and I… we've just never really gotten along when we've worked together, that's all. But…" Jack sighed loudly; he knew that what he was about to say next would either surprise Rachel or piss her off. Or both. "It's a bit different now though. I don't think it's got anything to do with work this time."

"What do you think it's all about then?" Rachel asked innocently.

Jack stared at her, and didn't hesitate when he simply answered, "You."

" _What_?" she said with a laugh, but appeared stunned at the same time. She quickly saw that Jack was serious just from taking one look at his face and asked, "How on earth is this about me? What do I have to do with you and Frank constantly at each other's throats?"

Jack started to think perhaps he should have kept quiet, but as Rachel stared at him, almost willing a response from him, he offered a short explanation. "We're just two men who happen to have feelings for the same woman. You. That's what it is. At least that's what _I_ would say it is anyway."

Rachel shook her head multiple times, not believing he could even think that. "No. There is absolutely no way that _Frank_ has feelings for me," she said defensively. "You… I can understand, yes… but that's because we're…" Rachel paused, trying to come up with the right words but then thought there was only one way to say it, "We've slept together."

"Frank can still have feelings for you without sleeping with you, Rachel."

Rachel realised Jack was right about that and started to nod agreeingly, "Okay, _yes_ that's true. But none of this means that Frank has feelings for me. In fact, I _know_ he doesn't!" she stopped speaking when she saw Jack give her a 'yeah right' look.

"You can think what you like, but I'm pretty sure it's the truth," Jack said, deciding that it was time to go back inside. He put his hand on her shoulder briefly, and walked back towards the door to the office, leaving Rachel staring thoughtfully out at the Harbour Bridge.

—

Frank was closely watching Rachel and Jack quietly chatter amongst themselves when his office phone rang, disturbing his prolonged stare. He blinked at the sound of it ringing, and turned his eyes away from the direction of Rachel's desk, "Holloway?" he answered. "Yep… Really? That's terrific. We'll be there soon!" he hung up the phone. He glanced back over at Rachel and Jack, who were both looking at him with piqued interest, "That was the Manly patrol. Less than 15 minutes ago, four men broke into a house and the occupants did a good ol' citizen's arrest on one of them! Let's go!"

When the detectives arrived in Manly, they found the male culprit lying on his stomach on the freshly cut grass at the front of the property. Two ties were cleverly being used to bind his hands and feet in an effort to stop him from getting away. Frank was quite impressed by the improvisation used and grinned. It had been a while since he'd seen someone make a citizen's arrest.

"You're the detectives from the Sydney Water Police?" the man who made the arrest asked.

"We are," Frank nodded, still grinning, "Detectives Holloway, Goldstein and Christey."

"Harry Palmer," the gentleman introduced himself, with a smile of acknowledgment at the trio. He then pointed down at the man on the grass, who was dressed in an off-white pair of overalls, complete with a mask and gloves. "I caught him and three other guys breaking in, but the others got away."

"You did a great job there, Mr Palmer!" Frank exclaimed in praise, walking over to the man lying on the grass. He grabbed his handcuffs out from his pocket, "Let's get you properly restrained, shall we, Mister…?"

The man said nothing when Frank placed him in handcuffs and Rachel helped undo the ties around his hands and feet. "Keeping quiet, hey? Well Mr Silent, guess what? You're under arrest," Frank then told the man, pulling him up off the grass. While Frank read him his rights, Jack opened the back door to one of the Manly patrol cars that had arrived on the scene.

"Watch your head," Frank directed the man to the back seat before shutting the door once he was sitting safely inside the police car. "Thank you Jack," Frank then said a little too politely, walking back towards the house.

"You're welcome Frank."

—

Rachel returned to work while Frank and Jack took the unknown suspect to the Sydney Police Centre for an interview and to be charged with break and enter. She hoped that the time together, without her there, would give them a chance to sort out their differences. When the pair were back at the station however, they were both just as agitated as they were earlier, if not more so. Rachel sighed when Frank and Jack walked into the office. "How did you guys go?" she asked, trying to ignore the obvious tension.

"Oh, Jack took over the interview… as per bloody usual," Frank said distastefully, sitting down on his chair heavily.

Jack glared at him and exclaimed, "Come off it, Frank! I did not!"

Rachel began to regret asking, but interrupted the men before their conversation had the chance to develop into an argument. "I _meant_ with the robber. How did you go with him? What did he have to say for himself?"

It was quiet for a few moments, before Jack subtly rolled his eyes and decided to be the one to answer Rachel, realising that Frank wasn't going to speak, "Well, we managed to get a name out of him, but apart from that he didn't say a whole lot. Didn't even dob in his mates!"

Rachel raised her eyebrows, "So he's being charged with today's break and enter, and that's it?"

"He only admitted to today's because he was caught redhanded."

" _And_ he only admitted to it because Jack wouldn't let up and almost pounded him," Frank finally spoke up, raising an index finger to just below his eye level. While he was only being facetious about the last part of his comment, Frank immediately copped unimpressed looks from both Jack and Rachel.

"I think you and I need to go outside and have a chat, Frank," Jack said with a surprisingly refrained tone of voice. He saw Frank frown but shrug offhandedly at the same time, before he got up off his chair and headed out onto the balcony. Worried, Rachel too got up, wanting to be a kind of mediator between the two men, but Jack raised his hand, palm facing her. "It's okay, Rachel," he said, "There's no need for you get involved in whatever happens outside."

Rachel reluctantly sat back down, watching Jack follow Frank and disappear from her view. "I'm only going to give you a few minutes," she whispered to herself, looking at her watch. Rachel may have been sick of Frank and Jack's verbal fights, but the last thing she wanted was for there to be a physical fight between them.

—

"What's your problem, Frank?" Jack demanded to know as soon as he was outside and not within an earshot of anyone else. He was still confident that the 'thing' between he and Frank was about Rachel, but he wanted to hear it from Frank's mouth. "If you've got an issue with me being here, why don't you just say it?"

Frank's eyes narrowed. He only had to think about what he wanted to say for a short moment, "Yeah, I have an issue with you being here. But there's always been _something_ when we've worked together, Jack. Nothing new there."

Jack shook his head, taking a couple of small steps towards Frank. He didn't disagree with what Frank had said, he just knew it was more than that. "It's got nothing to do with us working together this time," Jack stated ever so bluntly, "And we need to get it out in the open."

"I have no idea what you mean, Christey," Frank said, using Jack's last name because he was starting to irritate him. "I think it's fair to say we don't like each other much… plain and simple. You know you don't have to like or get along with _everyone_ you work with, right?"

"Yes I realise that," Jack began with a nod, "But like I said, it's not about that. It's about the fact we both have feelings for the same woman."

Frank looked a little dumbfounded when he said, "What the hell are you talking about? What same wom— oh! If you mean Rachel… I don't have _feelings_ for her, she's my work partner and my friend. That's it. You on the other hand… whatever is going on there… whatever. I don't care." Frank saw Jack raise his eyebrows, so he corrected himself slightly and his voice turned hoarse, "Okay, I care about Rachel, but my care for her is as a _friend_ and as a _work_ partner. Nothing more. Unlike you, obviously." The last few words Frank spoke with some disdain, which he couldn't help.

Jack leaned back a little, as if he was trying to figure Frank out just by looking at him. Jack wanted to believe Frank, but there was something about his body language and behaviour towards him that made Jack certain he also had feelings for Rachel. Perhaps it was jealousy in some strange way. "What is _this_ then? If you only care about Rachel as a friend as you say?" Jack soon asked, curious to know what Frank thought.

Frank shrugged, "We're two very different people, Jack. And yes, we happen to _care_ about the same woman," he emphasised the word 'care' to the point where he almost shouted it. Frank paused for a second, stepping closer to Jack, uncomfortably close, "But if you hurt her in any way, I won't hesitate in hurting you. Got it?"

Before Jack could respond, he was stopped by the sound of the door opening and Rachel's voice. "Are you two finished out here?" she asked, frowning when she noticed the close distance between them.

"We sure are!" Frank exclaimed, quickly eyeing Jack before he went back inside, as if to silently make it clear that he meant every single word he said.

—

Jack asked Rachel to the Cutter Bar later that evening, and when she arrived, he bought her a beer and they sat down at one of the corner tables, away from some raucous patrons near the bar. Neither of them had spoken about Jack and Frank's conversation earlier, and Rachel decided to take the opportunity to ask. Jack, however, was unwilling to go into any of the details. "It might be best if it just stays between Frank and me," he answered honestly.

Rachel sat back in her chair, studying Jack through pensive eyes. "It was just so tense when I got outside. It looked like you were going to hit each other or something."

"I wouldn't do that, I know when to contain myself. But I can't speak for Frank, of course."

"I thought you and Frank would have sorted out your differences, or _similarities_ , by now," Rachel commented, taking a sip of her beer. "I mean, how long has it been since you met him?"

Jack scoffed softly at Rachel's question and in doing so, avoided answering it. "I've come to the realisation that we'll probably never be able to sort it out, Rach," he then chuckled, but not because he thought anything was particularly funny. "It's just one of those things that will always remain as it is. Unsortable."

"Doesn't that bother you?" Rachel asked, hoping to get a better response from him.

Jack shook his head, explaining, "Nah, not really. I mean, it's not like Frank and I see each other _all_ of the time. Though I will tell you what is bothering me about him at the moment… he's too bloody stubborn to admit the reason why we've been butting heads lately." Jack paused, wanting to change the subject, "But anyway… there _is_ a Water Police detective I'd like to see a bit more of."

Rachel raised her eyebrows and said with a smile, "Oh yeah?"

"Hmm," he nodded thoughtfully.

"Well, I think that is something we _might_ be able to sort out."

—

The following morning, three men were reported loitering around houses in Watsons Bay. Helen radioed through to the Nemesis who were close by, advising Gavin and Tommy to be careful because there was a chance it was the rest of the men responsible for the series of waterfront robberies and they could be armed. "The detectives are on their way with Dave and the Harpy, okay?" Helen said, "They should be there in about 10 minutes, so I want you to wait for them."

"Copy that Helen," Tommy answered into the radio. He looked over at Gavin and said, "South side now. They're changing it up!"

Gavin laughed loudly, "Ha! They gotta keep us on our toes somehow!"

Tommy chuckled and turned the Nemesis in the direction of the wharf. Gavin jumped down to the main deck and got the ropes ready. "That's it Tommy," Gavin directed him, using his hands as signals, "A bit more… yep, that's good!"

Tommy shut down the engine, and as he did so, he heard the sound of another boat heading towards them. When Tommy turned around, he saw that it was the Harpy, being carefully driven and directed by Dave. Rachel, Frank and Jack were standing alongside him.

"They'll probably be long gone by now," Frank pessimistically commented about the men, as they all stepped onto the wharf and walked towards Watsons Bay beach.

"Apparently they were seen hanging around some houses on Marine Parade, which is just up here," Gavin informed the detectives, in case they hadn't already been told. "Helen said there's the possibility that they are from the same group responsible for the latest robberies, so it's best to be prepared," he put one hand over his gun holster.

"Keep your radios handy too," Jack advised everyone.

With their guns ready, the detectives split up and searched in separate areas along the Parade, while Tommy and Gavin door knocked the houses to let residents know what was happening. Rachel made her way down a narrow lane in between two houses, which she could see led to another road. As she was nearing the end of the lane, Rachel was startled by a man jumping the fence in front of her. He was wearing a grey shirt and matching trousers, with a mask hanging around his neck, giving Rachel the opportunity to see his face properly. Despite not being able to see if he had a weapon on him or not, Rachel decided to proceed with caution.

"Police… stay where you are," she warned him firmly, raising her gun. "Put your hands above your head where I can see them." In silence, the man did what Rachel said, and she closely watched his every move. Once his hands were placed on his head, Rachel stepped forward. During this moment, she saw his eyes glance ever so slightly to the left of her, and before Rachel got the chance to say or do anything, she felt someone grab her and knock the gun from her hand.

"Don't even think about moving, copper," said the man holding onto Rachel, pressing her gun hard against her temple. "Unless you want a bullet in the brain."

Rachel stood still but was breathing heavily. Every instinct in her body was telling her to remain calm, but it was hard to do with a gun held to her head. "Don't you think we should talk about this…" Rachel started to say, but was interrupted by the man who had been standing in front of her yelling out, "Oi, there's another cop!" and he took off down the lane as fast as he could, leaving his accomplice by himself.

"Drop the gun!" came Jack's loud, stern voice.

The armed man turned around, keeping hold of Rachel and with the gun still aimed at her temple, albeit now a little shakily. "I'll shoot her. I will. I'm serious."

Jack's aim, however, was completely steady and directed right at the man's chest. "Look mate," he began, using the friendliest tone he could in the situation, "I know you don't want to hurt anyone. You haven't hurt anyone before have you, so why would you want to start now? Come on… just put the gun down and let her go. You're not doing yourself any favours…"

The man started to breathe noisily, and his voice quavered when he spoke, as if he realised that he wasn't going to get away. "Okay, okay… I'm putting the gun down…" he said, slowly lowering the gun under Jack's watchful eyes. He then pushed Rachel away with so much force that she fell to the ground, landing next to her gun, which she quickly grabbed.

"That's good mate, you've done the right thing," Jack said, helping Rachel up. As he was doing so, Jack saw Frank out the corner of his eye, his gun was aimed straight at the head of the now unarmed man. "It's okay, Frank. I got this," Jack called out to him, before he placed the man under arrest and handcuffed him.

"Oh have you, Jack?"

Jack let out a loud sigh and subtly rolled his eyes because he could hear the obvious sarcasm in Frank's voice. " _Yes_ ," he soon muttered through his teeth, annoyed that Frank was asking when he could see things were clearly under control.

—

After arriving back at the Water Police station, Jack made the prompt decision to let Rachel and Frank interview the man they arrested in Watsons Bay. Rachel stopped him as he was walking down the stairs, "Hey, where are you going?" she asked him gently, placing her hand on his arm.

"Oh, I don't think I'm needed here so I thought I'd leave the interview… and perhaps the rest of the investigation… in your capable hands," Jack smiled, but it wasn't a reassuring smile to Rachel. He turned to go again, but was stopped once more by Rachel following him out the door.

"Jack, what do you mean by the 'rest of the investigation'?" she asked, frowning out of concern and confusion. "This isn't because of all the stuff with Frank, is it? Because that would be silly and quite unlike you."

"Three's a crowd, Rachel. _Especially_ _this_ three," Jack told her with an offhanded shrug. He then smiled a little, more assuring this time, and said quietly, "I'll see you later."

Rachel watched Jack leave, deciding not to try and stop him this time. When Jack had made up his mind about something, there wasn't much that was going to change it. She walked back inside, feeling a little deflated as she headed up the stairs towards the office.

"Jack not joining us?" Frank asked when he saw Rachel enter, and she didn't even have to respond to give him an answer. One look from her said it all. "He's off having a sulk, is he?"

She rolled her eyes at him. " _No_ , Frank. I think he's just sick and tired of _this_ ," she waved her index finger in the direction of Frank and then back at herself. "Aren't you sick and tired of it too? The arguing… bickering…"

"We argue. We bicker," Frank said quite confidently, speaking of he and Rachel.

"Yeah, but _we_ get over it. You and Jack don't seem to be able to for whatever reason."

Frank got up off his chair in readiness to make his way to the interview room but before he did, he deviated close by Rachel's desk in order to make a point. "That's because he's an arsehole," Frank told her and he walked out the office, leaving Rachel shaking her head in dismay.

—

Jack was sitting quietly in his office in Balmain when his phone rang, interrupting his despondent thoughts. He stared down at it before answering with a noticeably lacklustre voice, "Detective Christey."

"Jack… hi, it's Rachel," came a voice that was not so lacklustre. "There's been a breakthrough in the waterfront robbery case and we're getting ready to interview the final man involved. Are you not coming here today?"

"No," Jack answered, and straight away he heard Rachel sigh. "I've been thinking about everything this morning… and I think it'd be best if I just leave you and Frank to it," he tried to explain as best he could, adding in honestly, "If there's one thing I've learnt since meeting you, it's that you're quite a good detective, Rachel."

Rachel was disappointed that Jack couldn't see her roll her eyes over the phone. "Come on, Jack!" she said enthusiastically, "Don't let your thing with Frank make you feel this way. Jeff asked you to the Water Police to help out for a reason, you know. Plus _you're_ the one who arrested the man yesterday. Do you want us to take all the glory?"

"I don't mind _you_ taking all the glory."

Rachel scoffed. She thought about what she was going to say next and eventually broke the short silence by asking, "Is there nothing I can do that will get you to change your mind?"

Jack suppressed a cheeky chuckle by covering his mouth with the palm of his hand, "I'm not sure you want me to answer that, Rach," he replied. "But seriously, I think you and Frank can handle it without me. Particularly now you've got that breakthrough."

"Well, if you _do_ change your mind, you know where we are," Rachel finally gave in, sensing Jack's stubbornness again. She had a feeling that he was now being stubborn just for the hell of it, but she didn't want to keep pushing the issue he had with Frank either.

"That I do," Jack answered, ending the conversation by saying, "See ya Rachel."

Rachel hung up the phone upon hearing the dial tone. She couldn't help but sigh as she glanced over at Frank's empty desk, which wasn't that way for long because soon enough, Frank was walking into the office, cheerfully whistling a tune to himself. "Happy with yourself this morning, Frank?" Rachel asked, although it was a blunt statement more than anything.

"It's a lovely day today Rachel! What's not to be happy about?" he exclaimed in reply, stretching out his arms as he sat down. "The sun is shining, the air is –"

Before Frank could continue with his over the top assessments of the weather, Rachel interrupted, "You're unbelievable, you know that? And I don't mean in a good way. But, I shouldn't be surprised…"

"What?" he asked, placing his hands on his desk as he looked over at Rachel with curious intent. "If you're talking about Jack, you may as well stop right now because you're never going to get us to like or even respect each other. No matter how hard you try."

"So… whatever happens between me and Jack… you don't care?"

Frank blinked a couple of times, as if he was trying to comprehend what Rachel had asked but he heard her perfectly well. "Oh it's a bit of both… do care, don't care," he used his hands as if they were a set of scales. "If you choose to be with him… I'd think again if I were you because he's a prick. Being with Jack Christey isn't a decision you should be taking lightly. Why do you think he's never been married, divorced or otherwise?"

Wishing she hadn't said anything, Rachel rolled her eyes. But she soon asked rhetorically, not actually wanting an answer from him, "And where has getting married, divorced or otherwise gotten you or me?"

"Point taken," Frank said, conceding defeat. "But honestly Rachel, sleep with Jack if you like yes, but don't get serious with him. He'll only let you down. Because that's the kind of guy he is. One big letdown."

Rachel shook her head, "You're only saying that because you can't stand him."

"Maybe. Maybe not," Frank answered cryptically. He then stood up with a lot of enthusiasm and said, "Now come on, enough about Jack, let's go interview the last robber. Finally close this stupid case!"

* * *

_The End_


End file.
